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Friday, 28 September 2012

The Quiet Inner Connection

Pretend play helps a child to imagine, picture and visualize. I noticed that when my son is left alone to imagine and play, he is much more quieter. I sense that there is so much inner work happening. He narrates the story that he is imagining and this includes his own pictures and words. His imagination that is his own makes me feel like he is working very inwardly. He remains so poised, peaceful, happy and joyful.

One day, he was gathering all his match box size toys that were scattered in many places in our home. We had some left over tapes which I had given it to him and had told that he could use it for his play. So, he chose to play an airport game.

Most times, people say that children have short attention spans. But when they are very active in their pretend play, their imagination is so very wild and rich that they go on for long time playing and having fun. And the depth of focus and concentration the child demonstrates is outstanding. He gained lots of insights and knowledge through this activity that no book or any other words or instructions could have given.

Many times, in the past, I used to jump in to give him ideas on how to even play. Lately, I have made myself distant and I just peacefully observe what he comes up with. What more can bring me happiness when I observe my child making life his own? And when the play is open ended, I notice that creativity just bubbles up in him.

I do not want to assess whether the pretend play contributed to the child's creativity, intelligence, language development or any other skill. The very simple fact that he was joyously playing and being engaged made me feel happy. Though the activity externally looked very energetic and loud, I could still sense that there was some quiet inner connection happening.

And, the tapes remained for a week on the floor and he kept playing throughout. Only the vehicles were moved to clean the floor.